Iran, US-Israel War LIVE Updates

<p>Press TV citing informed sources said that Iran will close Strait of Hormuz in event of any fresh attacks on Iran.</p><p>It also added that Iran will strike 'enemy' targets at a ratio of at least two to one.</p><p><em>(Reuters)</em></p>.<p>US President ⁠Donald Trump told ⁠reporters ‌at a ​NATO summit in Ankara ​on ⁠Wednesday that he thought Israel would ⁠withdraw ‌troops from southern ‌Lebanon, adding ⁠that he felt ‌Israel ‌wanted to ‌take ‌that step.</p><p><em>(Reuters)</em></p>.<p>Lebanon demands Israel's withdrawal from two "pilot zones" in the south before participating in the next round of direct talks in Rome next week, a diplomatic source told <em>AFP</em> on Wednesday.</p><p>The source, requesting anonymity, said "Lebanon is stipulating Israel's withdrawal from two pilot zones in order to participate in the round of negotiations" that Italy and Israel said would take place in Rome on July 15 and 16, following a framework agreement signed last month.</p>.<p>French President Emmanuel Macron said on ⁠Wednesday that he ⁠believed Iranian ‌strikes on ​US bases in the Gulf violated the interim ​accord and ⁠Iran had been mistaken to carry them out, ⁠but ‌that he understood that meetings as ‌part of ⁠the 60-day ceasefire between Iran ‌and ‌the United States would ‌continue.</p><p>Trump said ‌earlier on Wednesday that the interim agreement to ⁠end ⁠the war with Iran was over after the attacks.</p><p><em>(Reuters)</em></p>.<p>US President Donald ⁠Trump warned Iran that ⁠the ‌United States ​will likely engage in additional strikes ​on Wednesday ⁠night after attacks the previous day.</p><p>"I'll ⁠give ‌a little warning: We're ‌going ⁠to hit them hard tonight," ‌Trump ‌told reporters at ‌the ‌NATO summit in Turkey before his ⁠meeting ⁠with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy</p><p><em>(Reuters)</em></p>.<p>Funeral processions for Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei began Wednesday in the Iraqi city of Najaf with thousands of mourners present, reported <em>Associated Press</em>.</p><p>The Islamic Republic's dayslong funeral for Khamenei began Saturday, with authorities shutting down streets, airspace and daily life in Tehran as mourners commemorate the life of the man who led Iran for decades with an iron fist while confronting the West.</p>.<p>People in Bahrain and Kuwait awoke on Wednesday to the now familiar sound of warning sirens and explosions in the distance, as Iranian strikes again dashed hopes of a return to normalcy, reported <em>AFP</em>.</p><p>The latest round of strikes pushed US President Donald Trump to declare the ceasefire was "over", raising fears of renewed conflict in the Gulf, long seen as a safe haven.</p><p>As the two major powers fought, two small Gulf states paid the price.</p>.<p>President Donald Trump told NATO allies ⁠he wanted to keep the ⁠United States in the alliance ‌at a leaders' ​meeting in Ankara on Wednesday, a source familiar with the talks told Reuters.</p><p>Inside the closed summit meeting, ​he also said ⁠the U.S. was prepared to continue selling weapons to allies no matter how they were put to ⁠use, ‌the source said, requesting anonymity.</p><p>The source quoted Trump as ‌having told NATO leaders: "We want to remain ⁠with you".</p><p><em>(Reuters)</em></p>.<p>US President Donald Trump did not ⁠repeat his criticism ⁠of NATO ‌ally Spain ​nor his announcement of the termination of an interim ​ceasefire ⁠deal with Iran during an alliance leaders' summit ⁠in ‌Ankara on Wednesday, a source familiar ‌with the talks ⁠told Reuters. Trump, who earlier ordered ‌a ‌halt to trade ‌with Spain ‌over defence spending and the war in ⁠Iran, ⁠also did not mention the issue of Greenland during the talks, the source ​said.</p>.<p>At least four oil and gas tankers have turned back from attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz, ship-tracking data showed, as renewed attacks on vessels in the critical waterway ⁠heightened safety and security concerns.</p><p>The diversions come after a Qatari liquefied natural gas tanker and a Saudi-flagged crude oil tanker were ⁠damaged near the strait on Tuesday following reports that Iran fired missiles at ships in ‌the waterway, prompting maritime authorities to raise ​the threat risk for transiting vessels to "severe."</p><p><em>(Reuters)</em></p>.<p>Almost 6,000 seafarers "remain stranded" in the Gulf, the head of the International Maritime Organization said Wednesday as he called for "maximum restraint and de-escalation", reported <em>AFP</em>.</p><p>"I condemn the attacks over the past two days against several ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz," IMO secretary general Arsenio Dominguez said in a statement after US President Trump said the ceasefire with Iran was over. "These reckless attacks have again placed innocent seafarers in grave danger," Dominguez added.</p>.<p>Oil prices surged more than 6 per cent after US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the interim agreement with Iran is "over," though he will allow talks to continue.</p><p>Trump made the comments following US strikes on Iran in reaction to attacks on three ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The price of Brent crude oil jumped 6.3 per cent to$78.80 a barrel. US benchmark crude surged 6.4% to $75.00 a barrel.</p>.<p>​Kuwait's Ministry of Electricity said that several ⁠overhead power ⁠lines were ‌damaged by ​shrapnel during Iranian attacks on Wednesday but service ​continuity ⁠was not affected.</p><p>Emergency teams have begun assessing the ⁠damage ‌and carrying out repairs in ‌coordination with ⁠security authorities.</p><p>Separately, the ministry said ‌early ‌on Wednesday that ‌power had ‌been restored to all residential areas affected ⁠by ⁠outages caused by a number of overhead lines going out of ​service.</p><p><em>(Reuters)</em></p>.<p>Saudi shipping company Bahri ⁠said on Wednesday ⁠its ‌VLCC Wedyan ​was involved on Tuesday ​in ⁠an incident while passing through the ⁠Strait ‌of Hormuz, but the ‌vessel remains ⁠seaworthy and its cargo ‌is ‌secure.</p><p>Bahri added ‌that ‌all crew members are ⁠safe ⁠and no injuries have been reported.</p><p><em>(Reuters)</em></p>.<p>Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday ⁠that he admired ⁠Donald Trump's ‌determined stance regarding ​efforts to achieve lasting peace with Iran, shortly after ​the ⁠US president said he believed the interim ceasefire deal ⁠was ‌over.</p><p>Speaking at the opening of ‌the NATO ⁠summit in Ankara, Erdogan also thanked fellow ‌allies ‌Spain, Germany, Italy ‌and the United ‌States for providing air defence support to ⁠Turkey ⁠amid the war in Iran, and urged allies to be in solidarity against all ​forms of terrorism.</p><p><em>(Reuters)</em></p>.<p>Qatari LNG tanker Al Rekayyat ​is stationary near the Strait of Hormuz and awaiting salvage operations once a fire on board has been extinguished, according to ship tracking ⁠data and industry sources on Wednesday, a day after it was ⁠hit by a projectile. The tanker, loaded with ‌liquefied natural gas, was ​hit on its port side overnight on Tuesday, one source said, while another briefed on the matter added that the vessel was at risk of exploding due to a fire in its ​engine room.</p><p><em>(Reuters)</em></p>.<p>The International ⁠Maritime ⁠Organization Secretary-General ‌Arsenio ​Dominguez condemned new ​attacks ⁠on ships in the ⁠Strait ‌of Hormuz ‌and ⁠called for maximum ‌restraint and ‌de-escalation, ‌in ‌a statement ⁠on ⁠Wednesday. </p><p><em>(Reuters)</em></p>.<p><em>(AFP)</em></p>.<p>(<em>AFP</em>)</p>.<p>In US strikes on Iran on Wednesday morning, one member was killed by the "enemy drones", Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy said. </p>.<p>Aluminium prices rose on Wednesday as fresh US strikes on Iran rekindled concerns over potential supply disruptions in the Middle East, a region that accounts for about 9% of global aluminium smelting capacity. </p><p>Benchmark three-month aluminium on the London Metal Exchange climbed 0.61% to $3,156.50 a tonne, while the most-active Shanghai Futures Exchange contract gained 0.72%. </p><p>The gains came after renewed tensions in the Strait of Hormuz raised fears of disruptions to global trade, reversing some of the optimism that had driven aluminium to its biggest monthly drop since the 2008 financial crisis following last month's ceasefire.</p><p><em>(Reuters inputs)</em></p>.<p>Earlier, the US revoked a key sanctions waiver that had allowed Iran to sell crude oil, petrochemicals and petroleum products on international markets under an interim agreement reached last month.</p>.<p>The US Treasury said transactions authorised under the licence, which was originally valid until August 21, must now be wound down by July 17. The move came after attacks on three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and alongside fresh US strikes on Iran, adding further strain to the already fragile ceasefire between Washington and Tehran. Oil prices rose more than 3% following the announcement.</p><p><em>(With Reuters Inputs)</em></p>.<p>Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said on Wednesday that its armed forces would deliver a "crushing response" after accusing the US of carrying out a "blatant act of aggression" by striking parts of southern Iran. The military command also warned that Tehran would not allow US interference in the management of the Strait of Hormuz, insisting that the "only safe passage" for commercial ships and oil tankers through the strategic waterway would be the route designated by Iran. The warning came a day after the US launched a fresh wave of strikes on Iran and revoked a licence allowing Tehran to sell oil internationally following attacks on three commercial tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, further straining an already fragile ceasefire.</p><p><em>(With Reuters Inputs)</em></p>